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Home / Bay of Plenty Times / Opinion

Tommy Kapai: Can we right our wrongs?

By Tommy Kapai
Bay of Plenty Times·
18 Nov, 2016 05:19 AM4 mins to read

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Leonard Cohen died last week. Photo/File

Leonard Cohen died last week. Photo/File

Opinion

How could we have got it so wrong?

The pollsters and the politicians, the analysts, theorists and columnists - especially this one, who had the wahanui on full volume last week about Hillary waltzing into the White House.

Well as we now know there was no victory dance for democracy but more like a last waltz for women, and a huge loss for the free world - not to mention the Mexicans on the other side of the wall.

It must be said the Don played a master stroke when he got the out-of-work middle belt of America onside, and if he can apply his large ego and even larger waha (mouth) to the wellbeing of his country, who knows, he could pull a Republican rabbit out of his political potae.

From one wahanui to another I apologise to my readers on two counts.
Firstly, for getting it wrong with the first-ever women President, but also the first Maori head prefect of Bethlehem College.

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Turns out Eremia Tapsell was head boy in 2011 and Courtney Marsden shared similar honours. My apologies to both the Tapsell and Marsden whanau and may you both go on to right the wrongs of this world with great deeds of service to others.

Getting it wrong in life is something we all experience and the secret in my opinion is to work out where you went wrong and do everything you can to put it right.

So, what can we do to make the wrongs right, especially from what has happened over this past week since I opened my wahanui?

Michelle Obama in four years could make a few wrongs right and be the voice of democracy waiting in the wings to blow away Donald's trumpet. Only time will tell and just how much of that time there is, to put the wrongs right, is the ticking time bomb the world is feeling right now.

Brodie Retallick will go a long way to locking up the Irish next week and putting the wrongs of a once-in-a-lifetime loss right.

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Phil Goff believes the marketing gurus who have just spent a half a million on rebranding Auckland have got it all wrong. It took two years to come up with "A place desired by many" - a spin on Tamaki Makaurau - "The land of many lovers".

I guess the gurus wanted to steer clear of the many lovers interpretation considering past mayoral headlines, and for me the current slogan "City of Sails' is about as exciting as a warm bottle of beer at a barbecue.

City of Jails could be a slogan for our biggest city if we don't get the wrongs of prisoners' rehabilitation and reintegration right, going on recently released figures of reoffending.

Whanau and a whare to come home to - with a chance of earning a week's wages - is what a prisoner needs most to come out to, something we can all play a part in if we want to stop building more and more prisons to accommodate reoffending.

The way to right this wrong is to start creating open-door opportunities for communities to connect with Corrections and give the majority of prisoners who are not a danger to the public - and the 20,000 kids connected to them - a chance to turn their lives around.

Someone who had it right on from the very first song he sang was the legendary Leonard Cohen, who passed away last week aged 82 years young.

As one Rolling Stone columnist commented in his insightful consideration of Leonard Cohen's music: All We Need Is Love - and Leonard Cohen.

Suzanne has taken Leonard down to that special place by the river for the very last time and if there is a right and wrong message from his latest album, it can be found in the lyrics of "Hineni, Hineni I'm ready, my Lord".

This was Abraham's response when God called on him to sacrifice his son Isaac and Leonard Cohen's reference to his "willingness to serve".

So, what can we do as fellow citizens of this planet to make the wrongs right in this world?

A willingness to serve the needs of others is a great place to start, and for me it starts in our own back yard with ourselves, our own whanau and then our community.

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Living life in regret of past wrongs serves no purpose, just ask Leonard. Doing something to make them right serves every purpose.
Hineni Hineni

broblack@xtra.co.nz

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